"What's your thought about taking money off the table, especially in the context of Southeast Asia? I think a lot of it depends on who you are. So, as an angel, right, your LP is you. And so, I think there's the question of what your hurdle is and what you’re underwriting for. As an angel, you can be like, “Hey, ten X feels pretty great” or “three X feels pretty great.” And as an angel, you’re also managing your own personal liquidity. You can take it and recycle it back into other investments. If you’re a venture investor with a ten-year fund, and you get three X in a year, your LPs will be like, “What are you doing, man? That’s not what I paid you to do.” So, I think a lot of it depends on who you are as an investor and what your hurdle rate is. For a lot of angels—those people who made the initial checks on the founder and bet early—it is perfectly rational and reasonable, once the major investors come in, to say, “Hey, I’ve done my part, and I’m going to take the money off the table.” And then there’s always this question: do I take it all off, or do I let some ride?” - Shiyan Koh, Managing Partner of Hustle Fund" - Shiyan Koh
"I think another key takeaway is that VC funds are going to double down on due diligence again. During the boom times, the average due diligence time shrank from five to six months down to one to two or three months. That’s probably going to creep up again. Obviously, the due diligence was long before because there weren’t many DCT providers and a lot of people were still learning the processes, so there was some efficiency gained. But I think it’s going to stretch out again.” - Jeremy Au, Host of BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast" - Shiyan Koh
"I want to tell everyone that starting a company is hard. Growing a company is hard, and getting to a million in revenue—that’s an accomplishment. Getting from one to ten is actually quite hard, and then the same with ten to fifty—it’s pretty hard. Fifty to a hundred is hard, right? Every step comes with different problems to solve, and it’s hard. You shouldn’t expect it to happen overnight, because if you’re actually making something of value, solving someone’s real problem, then there is value to be captured.” - Shiyan Koh, Managing Partner at Hustle Fund" - Shiyan Koh
In this episode, Jeremy Au speaks with Jeremy Au on Indonesia: eFishery's $1B valuation collapse, 2024 fraud allegations, and sovereign fund exits with Shiyan Koh.
Keywords: Indonesia, eFishery $1B Valuation Collapse, 2024 Fraud Allegations, Sovereign Fund Exits, Shiyan Koh, Indonesia, Singapore, VC, Women, Thought Leadership
